san dkiegop moorings are maintained by a private company--after the p ort of sd decided they were not money makers, they were privatized in 2001. rates rose yearly until their contract said no mas..now they want to rid moorings of the older tenants--grandfathered in at a certain nice affordable rate monthly.

watch what you wish for...it will come back to bite ye...good luck.

dont anchor in any mooring fields too close to a buoy. you may be impounded, as in sd,and retrieving said boat from impound can be over 1800 dollars, us. good luck. have fun and be decent.

We anchored outside of Potters Cove last summer...had no issues with a SW wind. Ill tell you however just acroos in Stonington there was no room to anchor with their huge morring field unless you stayed outside at the breakwater exposed. We took a mooring there.

dave

I have anchored in Stonington quite a few times and favor it as an anchorage because they actually have a designated anchorage area. It is within the mooring field so you have to find it, but we have anchored in there w/ several boats and there was plenty of swinging room.
Perhaps it's gone now?
I will NOT use a mooring unless absolutely forced to do so; I don't trust them more than my anchor tackle, as so many above have stated.
I think it's absolutely disgusting the way the NE has totally blanketed so many nice anchorages with moorings leaving no place for visitors to anchor. Of course, I doubt that any of these communities give a rat's a*s about cruisers or visiting sailors as we just do not put enough MONEY into the local coffers; like a couple of dozen tour buses a day. Anyway, they've "Got Mine" so screw everyone else! Just like the Keys.
On my circumnavigation, everywhere we went the folks realized that we had worked hard to get there (sailing), not just paid money and sat in a window seat aboard a plane. They were extremely hospitable and the exchange of cultures and ideas was a two way street.
As communities put economic interests before the great pleasure of meeting new people who have come to visit, it is both parties that lose. $150.00 to $200.00 a week for a visitor's mooring is not hugely conducive to "hanging around and making friends".

Of course, I doubt that any of these communities give a rat's a*s about cruisers or visiting sailors as we just do not put enough MONEY into the local coffers; like a couple of dozen tour buses a day. Anyway, they've "Got Mine" so screw everyone else!

As it turns out, the State of Connecticut requires consideration of transient anchorage(s) in reviewing Harbor Plans before they are acted on by the appropriate Town legislative body. In our area we did just that in Mystic/Stonington--designating three transient anchorages on the Stonington side of the Mystic River. We also constructed a dinghy dock for transient use just south of Mystic Seaport and convenient to the "downtown" area. There is another, larger dinghy dock placed by the Mystic Fire District just south of the Rt. 1 drawbridge and there is another public dock and launch within several hundred yards. Part of the minimal mooring fees on the Stonington side of the Mystic River is contributed to the free pumpout boats that serve our area.

Maybe there are communities who haven't met the highest standards for free transient accommodations, but the sweeping indictment of New England communities as uncaring is off the mark.

Maybe part of the problem is that the more popular areas have intense competition for space and the allocation of "free parking" on the water side becomes limited or non-existent, just like on the land side in these areas. Some areas like Newport institute "resident parking" policies to assure that the local population can park in reasonable proximity to their homes. Perhaps there are parallels on the water side that are not appreciated by visitors.

Originally Posted by capta
Of course, I doubt that any of these communities give a rat's a*s about cruisers or visiting sailors as we just do not put enough MONEY into the local coffers; like a couple of dozen tour buses a day. Anyway, they've "Got Mine" so screw everyone else!

Maybe there are communities who haven't met the highest standards for free transient accommodations, but the sweeping indictment of New England communities as uncaring is off the mark.

Agreed, I continue to be favorably impressed by how welcoming a place like Newport remains, for a cruiser like me, on a generally modest budget...

I tend to avoid the busy spots anyway, but I'm hard-pressed to recall the last time I took a mooring anywhere in New England... In the Thorofare at Isle au Haut, Monhegan, that's about it... Sure, in a place like Nantucket, the anchorage can be challenging and inconvenient, but certainly do-able...
One thing that certainly helps in many places - shoal draft, which will permit one to anchor on the periphery of mooring fields, in places like Cuttyhunk...

Thanks for the excellent replies on destination moorings from Maine Sail, and TomMaine, btw... Good opinions from guys who really know the area...

The fact that Newport has done such a good job of allocating space is proof that if thought out well, everyone can be accommodated. With all the sailing/yacht club, transient, tour boat, and power boat traffic it is really noteworthy that except during "event" times, you can still find a spot to anchor. Now if they could only find a way to solve the problem of the damned cable running across the anchorage...

Agreed, I continue to be favorably impressed by how welcoming a place like Newport remains, for a cruiser like me, on a generally modest budget...

I tend to avoid the busy spots anyway, but I'm hard-pressed to recall the last time I took a mooring anywhere in New England... In the Thorofare at Isle au Haut, Monhegan, that's about it... Sure, in a place like Nantucket, the anchorage can be challenging and inconvenient, but certainly do-able...
One thing that certainly helps in many places - shoal draft, which will permit one to anchor on the periphery of mooring fields, in places like Cuttyhunk...

...

I agree Jon. We make regular trips to Southern New England and never have a problem anchoring in Cuttyhunk, Tashmoo, Edgartown, Ptown, Nantucket, well, pretty much anywhere we want to go as long as weather allows in some of the more exposed anchorages.

Last time we visited Newport, we anchored for 3 days off the Ida Lewis YC(I'm not sure we were supposed to,...) and had ready dingy access. We had a blast watching Newport go by.

Our centerboard gives us a few great options like Cuttyhunk, anytime we want to visit(so far). We'll also pick up moorings in some places like Menemsha(inside in September, no problem), Nantucket if weather goes bad(no problem so far there either).

Best of all, there is nowhere on the east coast that is any more accessible on your own boat than southern New England we've found. You're often surrounded by public beach and landing options. No nasty DON"T ANCHOR signs anywhere. The shoreline is as accessible as Maines.

Parking your car in a public lot and putting a mooring ball down in public water is not the same.
Painting a public lot parking spot with a 'reserved by Chuckles' sign or leaving a orange cone in said spot is more akin to a mooring ball -
Putting a chain across the parking spot or chaining that orange cone down is closer to the real deal.
Same deal for bike racks etc.. no one is talking about using your car or your bike, we're talking about using the parking SPACE or the bike RACK that you left your property in.

I think we need to be careful of too vigorously proclaiming our property rights to our moorings. I have one. I paid for the tackle and inspections and such. I understand that I own my stuff. Remember that mooring permits in New England range between 30-200 dollars a year. The actual value of those mooring permits could legitimately be increased to the value of a Martha's Vineyard beach key for most southern New England harbors. A hundred dollar mooring permit in a desired Mass. harbor is probably worth in the tens of thousands of dollars to those that afford to pay it. Without courtesy and accommodation along the lines suggested by Rob Gallagher in his posts, there will be pressure and it seems to me that pressure will mean municipalities who are being asked to police people's moorings and hire staff to do it, will raise the cost of mooring permits to their true values. Once I've paid 20,000 for a mooring permit, then maybe I can understand the "it's my property" argument. Right now, we're being subsidized pretty heavily by the public, who expect us to be courteous about it, I think.

I think we need to be careful of too vigorously proclaiming our property rights to our moorings. I have one. I paid for the tackle and inspections and such. I understand that I own my stuff. Remember that mooring permits in New England range between 30-200 dollars a year. The actual value of those mooring permits could legitimately be increased to the value of a Martha's Vineyard beach key for most southern New England harbors. A hundred dollar mooring permit in a desired Mass. harbor is probably worth in the tens of thousands of dollars to those that afford to pay it. Without courtesy and accommodation along the lines suggested by Rob Gallagher in his posts, there will be pressure and it seems to me that pressure will mean municipalities who are being asked to police people's moorings and hire staff to do it, will raise the cost of mooring permits to their true values. Once I've paid 20,000 for a mooring permit, then maybe I can understand the "it's my property" argument. Right now, we're being subsidized pretty heavily by the public, who expect us to be courteous about it, I think.

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